The box

It all started with an idea from Felipe. “Hey Jorge, I had this idea about a box. I thought that we could write our wishes for the future and dig it deep on the Surui’s soil. And then we can come back in a few years to retrieve it”.

We all loved the idea and felt that could create a long-lasting connection with the Suruis since digging this box deep in their soil was a good way of symbolise how deep the connection between us were.

He decorated the box with stars and galaxies and then we explained it to the Surui people. The ideas was that all should write a wish for human-kind or message for a future selves. We’ll dig it there and come back for the box in 20 years to read the message. They were quite enthusiastic as well about the idea and almost all of them wrote a message. We didn’t forget about our fellow GalileoMobile members that not were there and asked for their messages by email the days before. To write the messages, we used the paper-telescopes that we had left so there were colours everywhere like a rainbow. We also included other stuff that was important during the BraBo Expedition like an astronomical postcard, a GM brooch or a piece of what was left from my hat.

We buried it close to the school. It felt right, it was the place where we performed the activities, slept and had lunch for a couple of days. Well, it felt like we lived there for ages, time flows at a different pace there. Pati was always remembering what she heard in Uganda: they have the clocks but we have the time! It really felt like home.

The Box was buried exactly 20 Nuno’s steps (one per year) from somewhere we already forgot ten minutes after we buried it. Don’t worry, luckily, Felipe and Fer recorded everything. María do Carmo did the honour of placing The Box on the whole and we all threw soil to cover it up. Children swore that they could keep the box there until we come back.

As I said, our idea is to come back 20 years from now to retrieve it and visit the Surui community again. They were really special people and had a great impact in all of us that we will never forget. I am sure that some will come back earlier than that but I really hope that all GalileoMobile members, not only the ones that travelled, could come back in 20 years from now to get The Box back and meet the big family we found on the Surui people.

And like The Box, we dig our memories from the BraBo Expedition for a while and focus on new exciting adventures for GalileoMobile.